How to Make Braised Chicken with Shiitake Mushrooms

Braised Chicken with Shiitake Mushrooms

Estimated Cooking Difficulty: ★★★

Essential Ingredients and Tools

Per serving:

Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water until softened.
Cut the ginger into small pieces, cut the green onions into sections, and halve the garlic cloves.
Bone the chicken legs (you can leave the bones in, but it might slightly affect a programmer's efficiency while eating). Cut the chicken into small pieces.
Cut the soaked shiitake mushrooms into quarters. Reserve the mushroom soaking water for later use.
Blanch the chicken pieces in boiling water for 1 minute to remove blood foam and impurities.
Add 15ml of cooking wine, 15ml of light soy sauce, 1.5g of salt, and 15ml of dark soy sauce to the chicken pieces. Mix well.
Heat oil to 30% temperature (low heat). Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
Leave a little oil in the wok. Add green onions, ginger, and garlic, and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry over high heat.
After about 20 seconds, you will smell the aroma of the shiitake mushrooms. Add the fried chicken pieces, all of the reserved mushroom water (this programmer considers this the soul of the dish), 15ml of sugar, and 30ml of light soy sauce.
Reduce heat to medium, leave the lid off, and simmer for 2 minutes to thicken the sauce. Drizzle with 5ml of sesame oil, sprinkle with chopped green onions, then turn off the heat and plate.

Boneless chicken leg preparation is relatively complex. Here is my experience for reference:
Place the chicken leg flat on the cutting board, with the bone facing the programmer. Make a deep cut from the top to the bottom, ensuring you touch the bone.
Use your hands to pull the meat to the sides.
Use the tip of the knife to separate the meat clinging to the bone.
Flip the chicken leg. Insert the knife tip close to the bone and cut through the connection points between the bone and the meat.
Use the knife tip to sever the final attachments.

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvement while following this guide, please submit an Issue or Pull request.